northern territory: darwin

We initially thought we'd just duck in to Darwin, meet Ma and Grug and head back out of town but we needed to restock the fridge and get a few odd jobs done. Standing in the Optus shop for three hours isn't my idea of fun but it had to be done! 

Free Spirit Caravan Park had been recommended to us by travelling friends and with three pools, jumping pillow, a free kids club and usual amenities it was a comfortable place to stay. Whilst it was a bit of a drive in to town it was close to the free and awesome YMCA water park in Palmerston! I should have done my research because our dearest girl didn't meet the height minimum of 110cm for the big slide (but she may or may not have got two slides in before we realised). 

Rapid Creek Markets is a foodies heaven and you can buy anything from the freshest Asian fruit and veggies to soups, homemade rice noodle and egg noodles for your own cooking. There's herbs and Asian desserts. Our daughter asked that I bring back a pineapple and a mango. I also grabbed veggies, a bright sweet watermelon. And I had the tastiest laksa for brekky. 

On the way to Darwin we met a grey nomad couple who suggested we go to Mindil Markets. "Take your own chair. Take your own drinks and take your own food," they said, "then you don't have to buy anything." Instead we took our picnic rug, our drinks bottles and ate this feast of treats from across the globe. We had Thai, Vietnamese Japanese Sri Lankan Greek and Indonesian! We love that we can sit back in an Aussie city and experience our country's diversity.

J had himself volunteered at the foreshow. That's him holding the ladder just before the entertainer juggled flaming machetes. Truly. He thinks he's going to take up a new vocation. We're not convinced. 

western australia: broome

Amanda and Gavin and their two kids from Sydney met us in Broome for a holiday! When they told us they wouldn't be in Broome until late June we had to think how we'd fill in the nine weeks from Perth to Broome up the west coast. Thanks to them we slowed right down and were able to really enjoy some places along the way! 

Our eight night stay in Broome soon became twelve because we were having such a great time. There's so much to see and do and it was fun being with old friends! Miss P's new friend, Pippa, also celebrated her fourth birthday with a pool party in the caravan park which was fun!

What a visit to Broome without a ride along Cable Beach on these guys? Camels are roaming free throughout the top from the days when Afghani cameleers travelled through. Some are captured and spend the rest of their days giving joy rides to tourists like us! 

The Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park was another attraction on our list. The kids were given the chance to hold these little salties before a croc-feeding tour. It was incredible to see how primitive these creatures are.  

We were in Broome at just the right time to see the dinosaur footprints off Gantheaume Point and the staircase to the moon. Both were far more impressive than we'd expected. 

The first night we ate dinner from the markets at Town Beach while we watched the moon rise. A great place to watch the second night of the staircase is at the Mangrove Hotel who put on food and music. 

I also had a good long browse through the collection of books published by Magabala Books in town. They publish books, fiction and non fiction, for all ages by Indigenous authors and I came away with a handful of great resources. 

The Cygnet Bay showroom (one of the only three farms in Australia) holds free demonstrations. You can watch a pearl being extracted from an oyster and a talk about pearl farming. We really enjoyed this. 

If you do want to buy a Broome pearl then you may be buying a pearl from Broome but it's worth checking if the pearl was produced in Australia. I was surprised to learn that the majority of south sea pearls sold in Broome are from overseas! 

The Japanese cemetery is worth a visit in town. 

A little deli/cafe down the road from our accomodation at Cable Beach Caravan Park (which we recommend) was The Zookeepers Store. They sell a small selection of gourmet foods. The coffee was good (not great) and a mug came in a cup not much bigger than a regular cup size. Their food, however, was most impressive with housemade calzone, sweet pastries and goodies. 

The Blue Buddha Sanctuary next door to Cable Beach Caravan Park is a must if you like your yoga! My friend Miranda and I enjoyed our early yoga mornings followed by Zookeeper calzone!  

If you're in to your sports you should check out websites for local games. We caught a couple of games of AFL with the local teams in town. Those tall lads can jump! 

The markets are held the grounds of the courthouse every Saturday morning. There's the usual wares you'd expect at a market in Broome - sarongs, pearls (imported), jewellery, some fresh produce and a variety of food. I bought myself two gorgeous dresses from Unfurl. 

The two dads took themselves out on a fishing charter one morning and came back with quite a catch! I think there were four fish caught between them including two snapper and this impressive Spanish Mackerel. We enjoyed fresh fish and we'll be eating it from the freezer for weeks to come! 

The Cable Beach Caravan Park is just around the corner from the beach so when our little one was waking up at 5:30 we rode him down to the beach in the trailer. 

It was my birthday while we were in Broome too so my husband hailed a pedicab and they rode he, Baby A and I down to the beach for sunset. Our kids watched movies with our friends, the Wrights while we were treated to a night out. Thanks Em & James!!

western australia: broome

Friends from Sydney met us in Broome for a holiday! When they told us they wouldn't be in Broome until late June we had to think how we'd fill in the nine weeks from Perth to Broome up the west coast. Thanks to them we slowed right down and were able to really enjoy some places along the way! 

Our eight night stay in Broome soon became twelve because we were having such a great time. There's so much to see and do and it was fun being with old friends!

What a visit to Broome without a ride along Cable Beach on these guys? Camels are roaming free throughout the top from the days when Afghani cameleers travelled through. Some are captured and spend the rest of their days giving joy rides to tourists like us! 

The Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park was another attraction on our list. The kids were given the chance to hold these little salties before a croc-feeding tour. It was incredible to see how primitive these creatures are.  

We were in Broome at just the right time to see the dinosaur footprints off Gantheaume Point and the staircase to the moon. Both were far more impressive than we'd expected. 

The first night we ate dinner from the markets at Town Beach while we watched the moon rise. A great place to watch the second night of the staircase is at the Mangrove Hotel who put on food and music. 

I also had a good long browse through the collection of books published by Magabala Books in town. They publish books, fiction and non fiction, for all ages by Indigenous authors and I came away with a handful of great resources. 

The Cygnet Bay showroom (one of the only three farms in Australia) holds free demonstrations. You can watch a pearl being extracted from an oyster and a talk about pearl farming. We really enjoyed this. 

If you do want to buy a Broome pearl then you may be buying a pearl from Broome but it's worth checking if the pearl was produced in Australia. I was surprised to learn that the majority of south sea pearls sold in Broome are from overseas! 

The Japanese cemetery is worth a visit in town. 

A little deli/cafe down the road from our accomodation at Cable Beach Caravan Park (which we recommend) was The Zookeepers Store. They sell a small selection of gourmet foods. The coffee was good (not great) and a mug came in a cup not much bigger than a regular cup size. Their food, however, was most impressive with housemade calzone, sweet pastries and goodies. 

The Blue Buddha Sanctuary next door to Cable Beach Caravan Park is a must if you like your yoga! My friend Miranda and I enjoyed our early yoga mornings followed by Zookeeper calzone!  

If you're in to your sports you should check out websites for local games. We caught a couple of games of AFL with the local teams in town. Those tall lads can jump! 

The markets are held the grounds of the courthouse every Saturday morning. There's the usual wares you'd expect at a market in Broome - sarongs, pearls (imported), jewellery, some fresh produce and a variety of food. I bought myself two gorgeous dresses from Unfurl. 

The two dads took themselves out on a fishing charter one morning and came back with quite a catch! I think there were four fish caught between them including two snapper and this impressive Spanish Mackerel. We enjoyed fresh fish and we'll be eating it from the freezer for weeks to come! 

The Cable Beach Caravan Park is just around the corner from the beach so when our little one was waking up at 5:30 we rode him down to the beach in the trailer. 

It was my birthday while we were in Broome too so my husband hailed a pedicab and they rode he, Baby A and I down to the beach for sunset. Our kids watched movies with our friends, the Wrights while we were treated to a night out. Thanks Em & James!!

Réunion Island, September 2013

September 22(?) 2013

"I'm sitting here on a banana lounge (not recommended) peering out over the great Indian Ocean. Somewhere, out there, is Madagascar and further still is the East Coast of Africa. It's surreal. The water is green. The beach, the sand is coral. Just to walk to the ocean's edge requires constant vigilance. To stub one's toe on coral is painful.

This morning J and and walked to the village (Saint Gilles Les Bains) markets. Fresh fruit and vegetables, baguettes Indian food - all fresh and beautiful. It now feels as though we are on holidays. Only now am I relaxed."

This is an excerpt from my diary from a few weeks ago. Only now am I able to consider sitting down to write again. Everything feels like a chore after a wonderfully relaxing holiday (for me) on Réunion Island.

My husband was attending a tri-continental conference for work. I was able to attend some of the conference. Mostly, though, my days consisted of laying on the beach reading, walking along the beach and riding a bicycle around the island and chatting with the other attendees' partners. In the evenings the delegates would join us for sunset drinks on the beach and dinner or a conference function.

It was an incredibly timely break. I had become quite overwhelmed with the job of stay-at-home Mum and we were lucky to have my mother mind the kids at our place while we were away. It wasn't until we returned home that I 'remembered' what a full-on job raising kids is. When we were away we just had each other to worry about, two adults. No spare changes of clothes. No snack packs. No night wake-ups. Riding bikes with no baby seats. SCUBA diving. And no whinging.

By day ten, though, we did miss our munchkins and so we were eager to get home to them. Meanwhile, they'd had a brilliant time at home in Sydney - a visit to the NSW Art Gallery, tennis with their Aunties, a kids' party, a preschool play date, the beach, the aquarium, parks, visits from cousins, swimming lessons, ice-creams!!! The kids were well looked after and Mum had a great (but exhausting) time!

I'll share more of our Réunion Island experience in coming posts.